17
Shelley pulled up in her cruiser outside Kim's cabin. She tried the door, which was unlocked, and went inside. She wandered through the rooms, glancing in the wardrobes and under the bunks.
"Hello?" she called out. "Anyone home?"
Silence.
"Nicola? You hearing me? Your mom wants to know you're safe."
Silence. Through the windows the trooper could see the rising and falling of pine branches in the wind. Maybe the girl was lost in the woods? It was heading towards evening and the nights up in the foothills were cold. She went back outside.
She circled the house and quickly located the wide track through the trees. She followed it.
"Hello? Hello? Nicola? Nicola – are you hearing me?"
But there was only the wind whining through the pines. Shelley kept walking and calling for a furthe
